Listening Project

Φαντάζομαι ότι είναι καιρός άκουσα κάποια μουσική, κάτι προς την κατεύθυνση της όπερας ή ίσως κάποιο ή κάποια μπαρόκ χορωδιακή μουσική. Ό, τι κάνω θα είναι καλύτερα από ό, τι είναι εδώ και ειδικά ο εκφοβισμός και συρτή που συνεχίζεται εδώ. Αγαπώ τη μουσική, ωστόσο, μισώ τους ανθρώπους απορριπτικοί. Ξέρω ότι θα ακούτε κάποιο Britten Benjamen.

..because that would be as bad as doing a cut and paste job from Wikipedia and passing it off as your own orginal thoughts. But I'm sure no-one would be such a charlatan as to do that, would they?

LOL!

By God, this Greche, pleynly at a woord
Is dusty scholarship nat worth a toord,
Min eyes aken at this drasty speche
Little learninge means I kan not reche;
Thou woldst mak of me a fool
Who never studeyde this konnyng at schoole:
'Tis nothing short of vileyne I trow
To tak this langage so highbrowe.
Foryeve this humble clerk his dowt
 -To pretendye to Greche giveth some some clout.
In troth this knavery is daungerous
Yet ther are some right vertuous.
An end of this wofull debate,
-There's some who google to translate!

(Adapted liberally from Chaucer)

Sorry everyone: I have been away when I should have been here to give an introduction to the Birtwistle.  It’s been the final Carnival weekend here in Greece. My request (περιμένετε) for you to wait, seems to have instead led to a burst of Greek scholarship - I had no idea how many hellenophiles we had on the forum. And it all stemmed from Bazza’s ‘It’s all Greek to me’.  Of course, in Greece people need an alternative and they say ‘It’s all Chinese to me’. How many members will be ready to respond I wonder!  (Just joking!)

Now to Birtwistle: first the title and then the music.

It’s worth mentioning the title because it gives some clues as to Birtwistle’s way of thinking. Parla, you are quite correct of course in saying that "the title itself is taken directly from the Greek word ‘Τραγωδία’, which could be properly spelled ‘Tragoodia’ and which means tragedy”. But it would be wrong to think of this as a mistake by Birtwistle. Although he borrowed the conventions Parla mentions from Greek tragedy (see below), he didn’t consider his work a tragedy but more a song - τραγούδι.  And not just any song: he specifically mentions the ‘Goat Song’, (from ‘τράγοσ’, goat).  Now this is the fascinating bit: why his interest in the ‘goat song’? You Greek scholars will know much more about the origins of ‘Goat Song’ than I do but for some reason, goat song or Tragoedia, is thought to be the origin of the word tragedy.  My guess is that Birtwistle wasn’t so interested in the scholarly etymology as much as enjoying the triple meaning of his title, and perhaps also the suggestion (in more modern novels) that the goat song was associated with the myth of Orpheus - an increasing obsession of his at the time!

Enough of the title! Now to the music.

Bazza and DST seem to be disappointed by the lack of violence in the Boulez recording (the version I know best).  I’m not quite sure where the expectation of violence comes from (except perhaps the false association with tragedy). I’ve heard the Melos version some years ago and don’t remember it being more violent (in agreement with Parla). More, I don’t think the music is supposed to be violent, but it’s real chamber music. It’s not like Earth Dances, nor indeed much like Punch and Judy, for all that the latter used some of the music!  To me it is the balance of the lyrical with the ‘primitive’ that gives the work its character. Perhaps significantly, it also looks forward to his Nenia - the Death of Orpheus of a few years later.

All it gets from tragedy (IMO) are the sectional titles and, the formal structure which is cyclical like Greek tragedy (see Parla’s post above: thank you for that Parla).

So, after the prologue (1), there is a statement of the diverse musical material (Parados) (2), which has its counterpart in the concluding Exodos (8). Then the first Episodion (3), a lyrical, song like section, with its lively (if hardly violent) opposite, the first antistrophe (4).  At the centre is (5) the Stasimon (“the Song of the Chorus, which stops the development of the plot, so that the Chorus can make its (wise) comments”.). The pattern is reversed with the second episodion (6) a relatively violent movement balanced by the lyrical antistrophe (7). Finally the equivalent of the chorus summing-up, in the Exodus (8).

Does any of this stuff matter to the listener? I must say I really enjoyed this music the first time I heard it in concert some years ago, whilst knowing nothing of the above.  Since I’ve got to know it, and Birtwistle's music in general, better I’ve found analysis fascinating but ultimately unimportant. Just enjoy the music!

Chris

Partsonge, it dooth rejoysen me to here

Thy murye voys, that deyde almost for fere.

Me thoughte my belle wolde be sone yronge

With voyses claterande in Grekyssh tonge,

And one ther was that bolde wordes dyd crake

And semed lyke to a demoniake.

Such dyvers speches may no gode portende,

But prechen Antechryst and worldes ende.

And certes, were oure tyme here nat schort

I wolde me ful plesauntly disporte

T'endyte another Tale of Caunterburye,

The whyche wolde be passynge glad and murye

Touchynge a GOOGLERE, or eke a TROLLE,

That overmuche hadde dronken of the bolle

And googled tyl he fer was out of mynde

And nyghe hymselfe ygoogled hadde blynde.

But syn this worlde is fast now al ygo,

Lat othere pennis prate of endeles wo

And speke we of that parfyt gentyl knyght,

Sir Harrison de Birtwistle yhyght.

And avauntours with al theyr folysshe showe -

Bid hem gode daye, with murie synge cokkowe!

Chris, obviously it depends on the listener. To me it is important, to you it isn't. Not really much to argue about really. :-)

As for the Melos samples, the most noticeable difference for me is how much quicker the performance is. No Boulezian pipe and slippers here! Much more dramatic, biting and baleful. Thanks for finding the samples.

Now someone needs to upload the whole performance onto YouTube. Any volunteers?